Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/118688
PEOPLE IN WINE They've enjoyed being in one another's company for years, talking and eating and, maybe most important, tasting wine. They've talked passionately about intention and terroir and a vintage's character, in the way that only the most skilled sommeliers can. So it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that Kenny Koda has joined May-Britt and Denis Malbec at Notre Vin Winery as Director of Sales and Marketing for their operation in Napa Valley. Our Wines, Our Story A GLOBAL TRIO OF WINE EXPERTS JOIN FORCES IN CALIFORNIA story and photos by John Curley K enny Koda, an Advanced Sommelier, had managed sales for Rudd Winery since 2005, and the switch is a big one. He goes from a well-established house to Notre Vin, where the goals are no less lofty, but where the journey is still in the early stages. But no matter. Koda seems to have found his home at the Napa Valley winery of May-Britt and Denis Malbec. "Our philosophies of great wines, grape-growing and wine-making are alike," he says. "These wines have the perfect balance of concentration, flavor and weight that people love in Napa Valley. I am very excited to share these wines." "These wines" include the Notre Vin Howell Mountain Cabernets and Sonoma Coast Pinot Noirs and the ALIÉNOR label reds and whites from Lake County. Denis and May-Britt recognized the potential of the alluvial soils they found around Kelseyville in Lake County in 2005. The soils are rich in gravel, sand and clay because of the water that once covered and meandered through the area, and the May-Britt Malbec, Kenny Koda and Denis Malbec. 160 / the tasting panel / april 2013